A Lil’ Blog welcome to Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett, also known as Lorna Barrett

As a wide-eyed, unpublished author, I used to hope and pray some big-name author would discover me and give me a helping hand on the road to publication. Hope is a powerful thing, but in this instance, it was wasted. It was just plain hard work and perseverance that got me published.

Not only am I now published, I write under two names: L.L. Bartlett and Lorna Barrett, although neither of them are really me, and I haven’t given up hope that one day I’ll be published under my real name Lorraine Bartlett.

So what’s the story with the two names? When I was first published in 2005, I was advised to disguise my gender, because it’s more than just an urban myth that men can be reluctant to read/buy books written by women. So, I chose to write under the name L.L. Bartlett. My first book, Murder on the Mind, came out with little fanfare (which means no major reviews), and sank pretty quickly–accompanied by many tears. The book found a short-lived second life in a book club paperback edition with a half-decent print run. The only problem was it wasn’t available in bookstores, and many of my potential readers were reluctant to order it online from the publisher’s web site.

Between that pub date and the release of L.L. Bartlett’s second book, Dead In Red, came the first book in the Booktown mystery series. My publisher for that series required that I take a pseudonym, and I chose the name Lorna Barrett so that books under that name would be shelved next to my L.L. Bartlett name.

Dead In Red’s publisher is considered a “small press,” despite the fact they are part of giant Thorndike Publishing. (Well known for their large-print editions.) Thorndike (and its Five Star original-fiction imprint) target the library market. Libraries depend on hardcover books that can take the abuse of being read and re-read scores of times. But a hardcover book is expensive, and authors in hardback hope and pray that people will find and buy their books in bookstores, too–so they can keep on writing.

Lorna’s first book has done well–a LOT better than L.L. Bartlett’s two books. So well, that Lorna has been asked to write blurbs for other authors’ books. She’s already done one for a book that’s coming out in February, and she’s got two more to write before the end of the month. I’m happy that Lorna’s already a respected author–and that her name could help another author’s career.

But where does that leave L.L. Bartlett?

As odd as it seems, Lorna, with only one book under her belt, is now the better-known author. She’s the author L.L. Bartlett dreamed about lending her a hand to help promote her books, and L.L. is fiercely hanging onto Lorna’s coattails hoping that there’s a crossover audience between fans of her paranormal psychological suspense series and Lorna’s cozy mystery fans. There’s no doubt some people have discovered the Jeff Resnick mystery series thanks to Lorna, but so far, not a lot.

So what’s the best way for an author to become well known? Actually, it’s not big, splashy ads in the New York Times and USA Today (although, I’m sure that helps), but it’s actually word of mouth that sells the most books. Readers who tell their friends, “Hey, I just read a good book.”

As the holiday season approaches, that’s what I’ll be telling my friends–as Lorna, L.L. and Lorraine.

For more info on L.L. Bartlett, check out her website: www.LLBartlett.com

For more information on Lorna Barrett, check out her web site: www.LornaBarrett.com